The figurine of Hades
by readeverystory
Summary: This is the story of the figurine of Hades Bianca got from the Junkyard of the Gods and how it affected Nico and his grieving for his sister. Story starts at the end of The Titan's Curse ends around Trials of Apollo (no spoiler).
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So, I'm not sure if this fits in with the original stories but I didn't want to reread them and I had this story stuck in my head. I planned this to be a one-shot but it got so long I decided to make four short chapters out of it. I hope you like it.**

Nico had very conflicted about the figurine of Hades. When he first got it from Percy as a gift from Bianca he'd thought, if he had thought anything at all, "And this is what she'd died for?". He'd been so angry at Bianca for leaving him, at Percy for not being the hero he thought he'd be and at this stupid figurine for killing his sister and being so god damn useless.

He'd dropped it and left it there on the ground, but as soon as he did, he'd felt as if he'd left some part of him behind. This was his last reminder of Bianca after all.

When he got it back from Percy – Percy, why did it always have to be Percy? - Nico hadn't known if he should be relieved or sad. So he decided to be neither and to just put the figurine in his pocket without looking at it. And there it had stayed for years. In the pocket of his trousers, only taken out when he switched his jeans. He tried to get rid of it a few times but he couldn't do it. He couldn't even look at it, much less hold it in his hand.

The first time Nico properly looked at the figurine was when he met Hazel. Hazel had a talent to immediately guess what was going on. She figured out he was from around the same time era as she was and she somehow figured out that she wasn't his only sister. Months later she told him that she had long ago figured out he was gay as well.

Hazel didn't press but Nico felt it was his duty to at least tell her about Bianca and therefore he took out the figurine and told her how she'd raised him, how she'd left him and how she'd died. And when he sat there on the cold, wet grass somewhere near San Francisco, Hazel put her arms around him and let him cry on her shoulder. She looked at him with sad eyes, closed his hands around the figurine and whispered: "She sounds wonderful." It was a reasonable thing to say, Bianca had been wonderful. She'd always been there for him and had protected him from boys who had teased him in school. She'd always bought him Mythomagic cards. Hell, she'd died for him. It was a reasonable thing to say, then why did it make him so mad?

Nico jumped up and pushed Hazel backed.

"No, she wasn't", he cried out. "She left me. She left me to be with them. Those hunters. She left me."

With a scream he threw the figurine in the field in front of him. As soon as he saw it hit the ground, he crumbled to the ground, sobbing.

There was silence after that, Hazel let him cry and didn't touch him again. She just sat there beside him and looked at the field. It took several minutes until the tears dried.

"I'm sorry", Nico said then. "I shouldn't have said that. Bianca was wonderful. I don't-"

"Stop right there", Hazel interrupted. "It's okay. It's okay to miss her, you know? But it's also okay to be mad at her. She did leave you and it hurt you and you never got the chance to talk to her about it. I'm sure she had her reasons but it doesn't mean you have to understand them nor does it mean you can't be mad. And the fact that she's dead doesn't change anything about the fact that she'd hurt you."

Hazel placed her hand on the ground, concentrated and picked up the little figurine of Hades after a few seconds.

"Just don't let your anger make you forget about all the wonderful things she did for you", Hazel said with a small, sad smile and held out the figurine.

Nico took it from her and put it in his pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico took the figurine out of his pocket more often after that. Looking at it was still painful, but it wasn't unbearable anymore. During his time in Tartarus it was his only companion and he would've gone insane if he hadn't had it with him. It felt as if Bianca was right next to him and protected him again. Every time just before he went to sleep, he took it out of his pocket, stared at it and whispered: "Good night, Bianca."

Sometimes he even fell asleep while he held it in his hand. And the day the giants caught him and locked him in the Jar, he'd thought it was the case too. He was devastated when he realized, after the Seven had saved him, that he would never have the figurine again. He told himself that it didn't matter, he was alive that was all that mattered but he couldn't quite convince himself. The lost feeling the figurine left was only increased when Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus.

"Now", he thought to himself, "everything is lost."

He stood for hours and the reeling, staring down to the ground where somewhere underneath Annabeth and Percy where probably still falling. They could make it, he knew that much, but what they might experience down there made him shiver.

"Hey", someone said behind him.

Triggered, Nico drew his sword and turned around. He immediately lowered it though, when he saw it was Piper.

"Sorry", he mumbled and put his sword away.

"It's okay. We're all a bit on edge, I guess", she smiled, despite her eyes being rimmed red from crying. "Anyway, I thought you might want some clean clothes", she held up her arms where a T-shirt and a jeans rested, "and a room."

"Yeah, sleep sounds pretty good", Nico lied. He'd slept in the Bronze Jar long enough but privacy sounded appealing.

"Great. Come with me. I'll show you", Piper said.

The room wasn't the best Nico could've imagined. He counted at least three spiders as soon as he entered, but he'd slept in worse places before. It had a bed and, indeed, that was a luxury for a demigod.

"Here", Piper said with a half-hearted smile and put the clothes on his bed. "Those are from Jason, so there probably a bit too big but the other option was Frank, so..."

"Thank you, they'll be just fine", Nico told her.

"I can take your old clothes with me, get them cleaned if you want me too", Piper offered and mentioned to his slimy and stinky jeans.

"That would be great."

"Wonderful", she smiled again. She seemed to smile a lot, Nico wondered if her face hurt from all those smiles.

He cleared his throat.

"Oh right, sorry", she said and turned around.

Nico changed his clothes. Jason's t-shirt fitted him just fine, the jeans was too wide and the legs were a bit too long, though. But they would do.

"I'm done", Nico said.

Piper turned around and he handed her his clothes. Just when she took them, something fell out from his pocket and to the ground.

"Oh, what's that?", Piper said and bend down to pick it up. "Is this yours?"

"Yes", Nico answered a bit too fast.

He snatched the figurine from her open hand and held it to his chest. If Piper was puzzled by his strange behaviour she didn't show it, she just smiled at him and took his clothes. She was already half outside the door when she turned around again and said: "Oh, I almost forgot. Welcome on board, Nico. I'm glad you're here."

Nico nearly smiled back at her and as he stood there, his fingers curled around the familiar weight of his figurine he thought to himself: "Maybe not all is lost."


	3. Chapter 3

Nico started to put the figurine on his night stand while he slept, so that every time he woke up the figurine would greet him with its gloomy expression. He would put it in his pocket and not touch it for the day but in the evening, he'd take it out, whisper "Good night" to it and then he'd fall asleep. The figurine didn't help against his nightmares but it helped against the fear when he woke up screaming again. Nico had the feeling that its expression changed a bit into sadness every time he'd wake up. But of course his time on the Argo II didn't last, nothing seemed to last in his life.

The second time Nico voluntary showed someone the figurine was when Reyna learned about his secret. It was also the second time Nico talked about Bianca and when Reyna said as Hazel had months before: "She sounds wonderful." Nico nodded and whispered: "I guess, she was."

The spark of fury wasn't gone yet, but the sadness weighed more. She left him, yes, but he could understand her now. They weren't so different, were they now? He left all of those that might have eventually cared about him behind too, didn't he?

"She would've liked you", Nico told Reyna.

"If she'd been anything like you, I'm sure I would've loved her", Reyna said, squeezed his shoulder and smiled one of her rare smiles. After a few minutes she started snoring.

After that Nico started touching the figurine for luck before he went into battle. He didn't think it helped anything. He didn't believe in luck but it helped calm him down at least. He put the figurine in his pocket and brush one finger across its material and just like that the monsters slowed down and he had time to charge.

Shortly after Gaia's battle, Nico started to hang out with Will. They were an odd pair and Nico was well aware of that. Him, the gloomy and depressed son of Hades and Will, the overly cheerful, always optimistic son of Apollo. But it didn't change anything about the fact that both of them craved the presence of the other. They were like shadow and sun, nobody could exist without the other. And as it had to be, Nico developed a crush on Will.

Opposite to the public belief, Nico didn't wait ages to tell him (he wasn't Percy!), no Nico just touched his figurine and charged into battle. And he charged without hesitance, he was no coward.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?", Nico asked in the privacy of the infirmary (not in public, again he wasn't Percy!).

Will choked on the sandwich he'd been eating. It took five minutes for the coughing fit to pass but when it did, he said, still red in the face: "Y...Yeah... Sure!"

Before the date Nico touched the figurine again and what can he say? It went wonderful, three weeks later they were a couple.

That was when Nico started leaving the figurine in his cabin, he didn't need it anymore to stop the loneliness from coming. He still looked at it every night before he fell asleep, but he rarely put it in his pocket.

Will saw the figurine the first time after a long session of slow kissing, standing there on top of Nico's shelf.

"What's that?", Will asked while he stroked his boyfriend's hair.

"A present from my sister."

"Hazel gave it to you?"

"No", Nico said quietly. "It's from Bianca."

Will stopped stroking for a few seconds before continuing once more.

"You never talk about her", Will said.

"What's there to tell? You know her story. You've been in camp already when Bianca and I came."

"I know how she died if that's what you mean. But there is more to her story than her death isn't there?", Will asked.

Nico closed his eyes and saw him running around with Bianca laughing. Him playing with Bianca in the hotel. Bianca telling him some story and Bianca stroking his hair much like Will did now and telling him that she loved him.

"Yes there is", Nico said and he was shocked to realize there were tears in his eyes.

And then he talked about Bianca again, about his wonderful sister that had accepted him no matter what.

"She sounds wonderful", Will told him when Nico ended.

"Yes, she was. She was", Nico whispered.

And this time there was no angry spark, just love and a sense of longing.


	4. Chapter 4

For weeks Nico didn't look at the figurine properly, he didn't need it anymore to keep the loneliness away or to remind him of Bianca. It just stood on the shelf in his cabin and looked down at him with its gloomy expression. Nico touched it after weeks again, when Will told him that he had to go on a quest.

They sat in the strawberry field, when Will told him about it and for once Nico hated the weather control in Camp Half-Blood for always having this sunny, perfect weather.

"It's going to be dangerous and they'll need a healer", Will said without looking at Nico. "You know I'm the best. I have to go, Nico, I couldn't live with myself if I sent Kayla or Austin or one of my other siblings and something happened to them."

Nico understood. Of course, he understood. He'd take up any risk if it only meant he could keep Hazel save, but that didn't mean he had to like it and the dead grass around his feet clearly showed it. Will put his arms around him and kissed him. Desperately.

"I'm so sorry. I love you so much", Will whispered.

That night Nico picked the figurine up, held it to his chest and cried himself to sleep.

When the morning came Nico found Will already at the border of the camp surrounded by his siblings and the Seven. Nico pushed through and threw himself into his boyfriend's arms.

"Two things", Nico said to him. "First: If you get yourself killed I'll personally go down to my father's place, see you be put in the Field of Punishment, I'll think of a punishment myself and you know I can be very creative."

Will didn't seem very scared by this. He even laughed.

"Second", Nico continued and put out the figurine of Hades, "take this. It might keep you save."

"Of course it will. Thank you", Will said and kissed him quickly.

But Nico wasn't done with just one little peck. He put his arms around his neck and pulled him down to him. His lips tasted of sunlight as they always did.

"I love you", Nico whispered when he was done.

Will seemed a bit dazed but he smiled. "I'll see you."

It took weeks until Will came back. Nico shouldn't have been surprised, the Argo II tour had taken months after all, but that didn't stop him from worrying and feeling quite a bit lonely. The Seven and some of Will's siblings tried to distract him (Nico suspected a lot of money had been promised to the latter) but it helped just a little bit. He couldn't stop himself from thinking of Will whenever he saw Hazel snuggling with Frank or Percy and Annabeth kissing or Piper sitting on Jason's lap or Leo and Calypso arguing in their cute couple - ly style.

He started to hang out with Reyna more but she didn't have so much free time and he didn't want to be in the way, even if she did assure him that he wasn't.

It was another of those nights spent around the campfire when Will came home. Nico, the odd one out, squeezed between all the couples. They all tried to cheer him up and tried to make him feel included, but it still felt odd to him.

"Guys, I'm going to bed", he said when Jason fed Piper her third s'more.

"Okay. Good night, Nico. See you in the morning", they all said and petted his back.

He made his way through the dark camp, but suddenly he stopped when he saw a figure sitting on the steps of his cabin. His first thoughts were: It can't be, this has to be a dream.

"Hey, Death boy", Will said and stood up. "Did you miss me?"

Nico started laughing and crying at the same time. Needless to say, the kiss they shared was one of the best both of them ever had had.

Later that night when they were lying on the bed, their bodies covered in sweat, Will sighed.

"I have to tell you something, Neeks."

"What is it?", Nico asked worried, horrified by how guilty Will sounded.

"I lost your figurine", Will whispered. "I'm sorry. There was this monster and Kyle was bleeding and-"

"Did it save you?", Nico interrupted.

"Definitely", Will answered immediately. "I would've gone insane without it."

"Then it served its purpose", Nico said and gave his boyfriend a peek on the cheek. "And now sleep."


End file.
